Datasheet

Figure 1-8:
The Quicken
Home
window.
18
Part I: Zen, Quicken, and the Big Picture
The best way to get started
Quicken wants you to use your last bank state-
ment to set up the bank account you track. This
way, your financial records synchronize with
the bank’s records when you start using
Quicken.
But I want to suggest something slightly differ-
ent to you. Go back further than just to the
beginning of the previous month (which is what
you do when you use your last bank statement).
Go back to the beginning of the year and use the
last bank statement of the previous year —
even if it’s now several months after the begin-
ning of the year. Now, I’m not trying to waste
your time. Let me point out two big advantages
to having a complete year’s data in Quicken:
Tracking and tallying your tax deductions will be
a snap, and planning your finances will be
easier. When you enter the activity, be sure to
enter any outstanding checks or deposits from
the prior period with their correct dates also.
That way, they are there to check off when you
do your first reconciliation.
Going back to the beginning of the year isn’t as
hard as you may think. Quicken provides a
bunch of tools to help you enter several months’
worth of data in a very short time, as you can
see in this chapter and in the two or three that
follow.
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